Sometimes, with the Periodization that the College Board uses; history creates these little prequels. In this case, this is the story of how Japan, German, and the United States (as well as Russia) grew to be the major world power players that they will become in the final period (1900-present). Here we see them rise from obscurity (or non-existence), to global super powers. The big four players in World War II, didn't appear from nothing: They were born here.
(Note the dates on this one... Not every map fits our 1750-1900 era. For Japan it's mainly the islands around Japan that they had taken over, but in the first decade of the next era thay had alreay taken part of Russia, and all of Korea.)
